


Unfinished Business

by AshREvans



Series: Fire Emblem: Three Houses Short Stories [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, F/M, Spoilers, chapter 16 spoilers, church route spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-20 10:31:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20226373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshREvans/pseuds/AshREvans





	Unfinished Business

It was after the Battle of the Great Bridge of Myrddin when the whole world came crashing down around Byleth. She, Seteth and Flayn were talking about their next move, which involved toppling Fort Merceus when the gatekeeper came with troubling news. 

After allowing Dimitri and his army safe passage through Myrddin to attack the Imperial Army, and having Seteth force her to stay behind and not join them, news came of the outcome. Three armies met at Gronder Feild, The Kingdom, Empire and Alliance. Just like five years ago at the Battle of the Eagle and Lion. Byleth could only imagine how the three leaders felt when they faced each other on real combat. 

The Imperial Army was routed, but the Kingdom and Alliance Armies had suffered heavy losses. Edelgard was severely injured. That was the only bit that came as good news from all of this. After that, it all just got so much worse. Dimitri was reported dead. Killed alongside his army. That came as a heavy blow. Every single one of them were her precious students. But what hit her the most was news of the third leader. 

Claude was missing. 

They didn’t know where he was or what happened to him and Byleth immediately thought the worst. Either killed where they couldn’t recover his body, pushed off a cliff or carried away by a ravine, or he was kidnapped by the Empire. Just thinking of those options almost forced Byleth to the ground. The thought that Claude could be gone hurt more than the thought of them losing the war. 

Sure, they had a student and teacher relationship five years ago, but since asking Judith for help and borrowing troops, the two of them had kept correspondence with each other whenever they could. A friendship beyond what they had during those peaceful days long past began to form. Byleth learned his hopes and dreams and she, in turn, shared her own. 

Forcing herself to keep her composure until the end of the report, she excused herself immediately when the gatekeeper walked away. Seteth and Flayn could only watch as she walked through the halls away from them. Byleth wandered aimlessly through the monastery, thinking and recalling all of the conversations she and Claude had. From the first time they spoke one on one to when she caught him mixing poison in his room all the way to when they were talking about the belief of gods in the chapel. Fond memories that only caused her heart more and more pain through the rose covered lenses she recalled them though... 

She stayed lost in her thoughts as she wandered aimlessly around. Byleth didn’t even register the voices of her students that were still with her calling out to her, asking if she was okay. News travelled fast it seemed. She wasn’t forced out of her thoughts, though, until she found herself walking into a room. 

Gold carpet covered the floor and books were stuffed in every nook and cranny. There was a desk filled with drawings and diagrams and ingredients. A book laid open on the desk and Byleth walked over to it, peering down at the dust covered pages. This had to have been left here since before the Battle at Garreg Mach where she disappeared and everything went to hell. 

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she reached down and picked up the book, blowing the dust off it. Gazing down at the pages, she realized that it was the “fascinating book of poisons” Claude was telling her about that one time. Her eyes stung and as she barked out a quiet laugh, a tear fell down her cheek. Turning the page, she skimmed through the other poison mixtures he could have created back then, backing up and sitting down on the unmade bed. 

Dust billowed around her as she sat, stinging her eyes even more and all of a sudden, a crippling sense of longing and loss filled her. She… she may never hear that voice of his again, hear his laughter. He wouldn’t be able to see his dream of a united world come to pass anymore. Closing the book, she held it to her chest as she doubled over, trying to squeeze the pain and broken heart back inside her. She clenched her teeth to keep herself from making as sound and squeezed her eyes shut to try to keep the tears contained. 

She clutched the book close to her as if letting go of it, putting it down for even a moment, would force the memory of him to fade along with him. If only she had ignored Seteth and went to Gronder, even if it was just by herself. Maybe if she was there, she could have done something, anything, to protect her beloved students from each other. Maybe if she were there, she could have stopped Dimitri from going on his revenge plot against Edelgard without thinking. Maybe, had she stood by Claude, he’d still be here, alive and well. 

Maybe if she had led her students there, she could have stopped all of the fighting, knocked some sense into everyone. 

But those “what if’s” were only causing her heart more pain. Her jaw hurt from how hard she was clenching it and her eyelids were starting to sting. Her knuckles were white from how hard she was holding the book. And exhaustion was setting in as well. All of these swirling emotions inside her, that she couldn’t let out to anyone during this time of war, were draining to her. If only Sothis were still with her, maybe she would provide some comfort, ease the heartache even just a little bit. 

The next time Byleth opened her eyes, it was dark. She was still clutching the book left behind like it were a lifeline, but instead of sitting up, she was laying down on her side, curled up on the dusty bed in Claude’s old room. She stood and walked over to the window, looking up. The moon was high in the sky and cast blue light into the room, causing shadows to reach across the space, obscuring most of it from view. Her eyes stung and her heart hurt, but at least the threat of crying subsided and it didn’t hurt to breathe anymore. 

“It’s about time you woke up, Teach.” 

Byleth’s heart skipped a beat and she whipped around so fast, she toppled a tower of books. Her eyes widened as she saw a familiar figure step out of the shadows. His clothes were in tatters and he looked horrible all together but… he was there. He was standing in front of her, alive. His piercing green eyes bored into hers, searching for something, but she wasn’t sure what he was after.

She opened her mouth to speak, but her voice got lost in her throat. The man walked over to her, standing just a foot away, but Byleth was paralyzed. She couldn’t reach out and touch him, afraid that if she did, the illusion would be lost. 

“How did I know I’d find you here?” He said, giving her a lazy grin. “Did the news of my untimely demise hit you that hard? I’m flattered, really.”

Byleth just looked up at him, feeling tears in her eyes again. Feeling a tear fall down her cheek and his hand reach up to brush it away, shattered her inability to speak. Her eyes closed and she leaned her cheek into his palm. 

“If this is a dream…” Byleth breathed. “I pray that I never wake up.” 

Claude chuckled at that. “You have to,” he said. “There are still things you need to do, don’t you? There’s still a war going on. People are counting on you. _ I’m _ counting on you.”

“What does that matter? What does any of this matter if I can’t share in the new world with the people most important to me by my side?” Byleth said, for once being selfish with her desires. All her life, she was but an empty shell. But then she came to the monastery and met people, friends, classmates, people she cherished and then all at once, two of those people were just… gone. She opened her eyes and met Claude’s with a hard, challenging gaze. “What point is having this power, the Sword of the Creator, if I can’t protect you and everyone else.”

“Sometimes, in a war… sacrifices are made,” he said. “Don’t let them be in vain. Teach… no, Byleth. You’re the only one who can carry on and shoulder the dreams of those who were lost. You’re the hero of this story. We’re depending on you.” 

Byleth scoffed. “No, you’re not. You’re dead,” she said, turning her head away from Claude. A lump formed in her throat. “Just… just leave me in peace. I don’t… want to speak to illusions of the lost. My heart can’t take it.” 

A sigh rang out next to her and a pair of hands cupped her face, forcing her to look at her. 

“You don’t know that for sure, do you?” Claude said. “Do you really think I’m an illusion? That I’m not actually here? Is your grief that deep that you can’t see what’s right in front of you?” 

Byleth couldn’t answer with words. A lump lodged itself in her throat and she couldn’t swallow or speak around it. She just met his gaze, pleading with the specter to leave her alone, that all of this, having all of Fódlan rely on her and then to lose two important people to her in a single day for nothing, was just too much for her. She was just one person. She couldn’t do it all regardless of what people thought. She could put on a brave face, but even she had weaknesses.

Claude sighed and bowed his head. “Okay,” he said. “I’ll go for now. But I promise you… I’ll be back. You’re precious to me, too, you know. I’m not about to let you go.” 

“Claude.” 

The man in question turned his head and looked at the door. Byleth’s eyes widened at the second familiar voice that night that she was sure she would never hear again in her life. The man holding her face sighed and dropped his hands, turning back to her. 

“I have to go,” he said. “We’ll talk again. When all of this is over. I promise.” 

And then he turned. Byleth stood paralyzed for a moment, staring at him as he walked to the door where a familiar blonde man with blue eyes stared back at her. Just before he reached the door though, Byleth reached out, stepping forward only to feel her knees give out and her body fall to the floor. The book of poisons never left her hand.

“W-wait, Claude!” She cried. “Don’t… don’t go. Please.” 

Claude turned and gave her a smile that was equal parts lazy, fond, and sad. An expression uniquely his. “I’m sorry,” he said. “But there’s no time to continue this conversation.”

And then he left, the blonde King of Faerghus following him down the halls. Byleth stayed there on the ground and bowed her head. Her hair obscured her face from anyone who might look in and the emotions she tried to keep contained since she heard that news became too strong for her to contain. Tears that she held back only barely spilled from her eyes and fell on the book of poisons, staining the cover. Her fists clenched on the carpet and she bowed forward even more as emotional pain became physical, immobilizing her. 

Heartache had crippled her and broke one of the strongest women in Fodlan. 

And then her eyes opened. Sitting up with a start, she looked around her. Sunlight filtered in from the window and made the dust motes visible. The bed she laid on was still unmade and dusty, the particles clinging to her clothes and hair. The room look wholly undisturbed since the time she came in there the day before. The books she was sure she toppled over in the middle of the night stood standing, as miraculous as that was in and of itself. 

She looked around again, trying to find any evidence of her visitors, but there was nothing. The book she was holding as she fell asleep was still… no. Wait. It was right next to her. She was holding it when she fell asleep. Where could it have gone?! 

Frantically, she felt around the dusty bed and under the pillows but she couldn’t find it. Standing up, she looked around the room only to find that it had simply fallen off the bed next to her, landing open and some of the pages bending. Letting out a sigh of relief, she picked it up. As she was closing the cover, though, something fell out of it, landing with a thump on the ground. 

Frowning, she looked at her feet. A small piece of paper, tied to a small leather bag laid at her feet. Tilting her head, she picked it up and examined it. How could something like that fit in a book and have the book still close properly? Before she even opened the note, she examined the book. Opening it up the back cover first, she immediately got her answer. Claude cut out a section from a couple dozen pages to create a secret hole. 

A small sound that could almost be laughter escaped her lips for a brief moment. That was so like him. Setting the book aside, she looked at the leather pouch and the paper. Folding open the note, her eyes scanned over it.

_ Heya, Teach, _

_ If you’re reading this then that means you’re probably snooping in my room. Well, whatever. It’s not like I have anything to hide from you. Though, there really is only one reason I can imagine you going through my things. Something must have happened to me, right? _

_ Well… there is that big battle tomorrow, after all. Anything could happen. There are plenty of people walking the halls of the monastery now that we may never see again because of what Edelgard started. But I’ll be damned it that stops me. As much as I don’t plan on dying, sometimes the unexpected happens. Either way, if you’re reading this, I’m going to assume that something happened because if I was there beside you right now, you’d have no reason to go through my things. _

_ Gah, now that I’m writing this… I have no idea what to say. Strange, right? I’m usually the one talking the most in our conversations. I guess… I want to say I’m sorry. For everything. For whatever happened to me forcing you to go through my things. And I also want to say thank you. For the days at the monastery, humoring my schemes, being a friend to every single one of us there. You really were the glue that held everything together for as long as it lasted. It… really sucks that it all came to this. _

_ Anyway, as a token of my gratitude, and a promise, I left a gift as well. It’s in that leather pouch. Open it and I’m sure you’ll understand. Do it now before you keep reading. I’ll wait. _

As she read the note, her eyes stung, but she couldn’t help but let out a bark of laughter at his show of humor in the missive wrote before, she assumed, the battle to protect Garreg Mach. Deciding to humor the note, she looked at the pouch in her hand. Carefully she opened it and upturned it over her palm, spilling the contents in her hand. Her breath neatly caught when a small silver ring landed in her hand, an emerald embedded in it. Immediately her eyes went back to the note. 

_ Heh. I bet that came as a bit of a shock. I know that it’s probably weird, especially because it comes with a bit of a request, but well, it’s something I needed to do. I’m not going to die in the battle tomorrow. I can promise that, but I don’t know what’s going to happen in the weeks, months or even years after that. Sometimes, as much as I plan and scheme, sometimes the unexpected happens. Which is why I need you to keep that safe for me. Until the day that we meet again. _

_ The promise I make to you, _ <strike> _ Teach _ </strike> _ Byleth, is that no matter what happens to me or to you, we will meet again when this is all over. And when we do, I want you to give me back that ring and listen to what I have to say before you make any decisions. _

_ Until the day we meet again. Not even death can keep me from you. _

_ Claude _

_ P.S. If ever you feel like the world is getting you down, or things just feel far too big to handle at the moment, go for a walk under the night sky and look up at the stars. It’ll help, I promise. And I’ll be watching them as well. Always. No matter how far apart we are. _

Byleth could barely read the words on the page by the time she reached the end. Even back then…

She shook her head and closed her hand around the ring, bringing it to her chest. Bowing her head, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, steeling herself. Claude, Dimitri, all those who had fallen due to her inability to protect them, were counting on her to carry out their dreams and goals, finish what they started. What Claude told her in her dream was right. She was the only one who could do it. 

Taking another deep breath, she lowered her hand and slipped the ring back in the pouch before putting it into her pocket. Resolve reflected in her eyes and she had a new goal in mind. 

“I promise, Claude,” she said, “on the ring you left me. I’ll finish what you started. I’ll create the world you were looking to make with your own two hands.” 

With her vow pushing her forward, Byleth left Claude’s old dorm room and walked down the hall, her head held high. No matter what it took, this war would end and a new Fódlan would rise from the ashes. A new, united Fódlan where crests didn’t matter. A world where people from Fódlan, Almyra, Brigid, Duscur, Dagda and beyond would live together in the same towns in peace, laughing and enjoying their lives together. An era of peace and prosperity where events like the Tragedy of Duscur were things of the past and were unheard of in this new day and age. 

She would do it by herself if she had to. She’ll carry on the dreams of the fallen so that their souls may rest in peace. 

As she walked down the stairs to the first floor of the dormitories, a ghost of a voice, echoed by another, rang out in the empty all. 

_ Thank you, Teach. _

_ Thank you, Professor. _


End file.
